Star Lotulelei: Video Highlights for Former Utah DT

Star Lotulelei: Video Highlights for Former Utah DT

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Star Lotulelei was highly regarded as one of the top NFL prospects by the end of his college career. However, an issue with his heart at the NFL Scouting Combine workout hurt his draft stock.

Now, those concerns can be put to rest. Lotulelei's heart is functioning normally, and it likely won't impact his career in the NFL. While some teams may still be hesitant to pick him up in the draft, his draft stock is starting to rise once again.

While there was plenty to talk about in regard to Lotulelei off of the field, there was even more to talk about on the field. These highlight videos will do a good job of showing that.

September 15 vs. BYU

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Early on in the season, the Utes were able to knock off the BYU Cougars to go 2-1. Lotulelei finished the game with seven tackles, a season high for him.

In the film, there are two things that you should notice. First, notice the angles of pursuit that he takes. If the play breaks off to either side, he does a great job taking an angle that will get him to the ball-carrier in time to make a play. He does this a lot in the game, especially on read-options.

Second, Lotulelei's awareness in the backfield is solid. He is able to deflect a couple of passes as well as read the offensive line to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible.

These are two things that aren't usually too big of a deal, but it's the little things that make you a potential top-10 prospect.

October 4 vs. USC

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The Utes weren't able to pull out a win against the USC Trojans, but it was certainly a big game for Lotulelei that put him on the map.

The thing that jumps out as soon as you start watching is his insanely quick reaction time. In just the first 30 seconds, you see him jump off the snap, knock over the center and grab the football.

Being on ESPN certainly helped his draft stock, especially with an impressive performance like this one. That reaction time caught the attention of scouts everywhere, and it has been his biggest strength.

November 17 vs. Arizona

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The Utes lost another one against the Arizona Wildcats, 34-24. Lotulelei may have only recorded three tackles, but he made a bigger contribution than just stats.

In the game, Lotulelei was constantly double-teamed by the Wildcats' offensive line. With how big he had been all year, teams started realizing that they needed to put extra blockers on him in order to keep him from being disruptive.

The extra blocker on Lotulelei opened things up for the rest of the defense, especially in the passing game. They were able to pressure the opposing quarterback more than a few times. Even Lotulelei got in there a couple of times, despite him being the main focus for the offensive line.

Even when this guy gets double-teamed, he finds ways to make an impact.

2012 Season Highlights

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Throughout the season, Lotulelei was an overall monster. This video shows some of the most impressive plays of his senior year.

The recurring theme is that Lotulelei does a great job against the run. He finds the ball-carrier, quickly disengages from the offensive linemen covering him and then swarms the runner.

Along with that, he also did a pretty good job against the pass. While he only registered five sacks all season, he consistently pressured opposing quarterbacks. On the final play of this video, he literally goes through the offensive lineman to get to the quarterback.

The Utes may not have had the best season, but Lotulelei certainly made it more exciting.

Pro Day Bench Press

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First off, wow.

Lotulelei wasn't able to work out at the combine after the issues with his heart, but an impressive Pro Day at Utah settled down a lot of scouts who were still wondering how strong he is.

For the bench press, Lotulelei was able to do a very impressive 38 reps. To put that in perspective, that would have tied for the most reps at the combine.

It's safe to say that Lotulelei is one of the strongest guys in this year's draft, and he certainly showed it at his Pro Day.